E3 2013: Saint's Row IV (Hands-On)

The President of the United States, who is also the leader of the street gang, the Saints, has been trapped in a virtual reality by aliens called the Zin who want to take over the planet. That sounds like my jam, and after getting to play a bit of Saint's Row IV at the Square Enix booth, I'm more excited for the August release date than ever. While it gave off the vibe of a reskinned Saint's Row: The Third, there was enough freedom just in running around that made it feel like a completely different experience. And there were plenty of wub wubs. Wub wub.

Running around the virtual Steelport as the President of the United States has some interesting implications. The first thing the demo taught me was how to run, and in doing so I wound up demolishing cars and sending people flying. In fact, why use a car when you can simply run everywhere, and cause havok along the way? There's also the ability to glide after getting enough speed and jumping high enough in to the air. This was a great way to get around and avoid trouble which seems to be around every corner. There's plenty of weapons at your disposal when it comes time to stand your ground, and you've seen it in action, but there's nothing more hilarious than using the 'dubstep gun' to take care of people giving you trouble. Or you could just use telekinesis and pick up cars, dumpsters, other people, pretty much whatever you can imagine, and fling it at your foes.

The E3 demo also gave me access to some of Professor Genki madness, and I'm happy to see that he's back, because his mini-games were some of the most entertaining aspects of Saint's Row: The Third. The announcers have returned as well, which means we get to hear more wackiness from Hulk Hogan, which I'm always happy to hear. The virtual reality visuals kind of evoke memories of taking on the Deckers, and the world is very dark as a result. I'm curious to see how the final game turns out, can the President escape his (or her) virtual reality confines? I guess we'll see in two months when Saints Row IV is released for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. But after this demo, I feel like going back to Saint's Row: The Third and hopefully it will be able to tide me over.